THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. SCREENPLAY © 2010 BY TKA ALRIGHT LLC/UGC PH. NO PORTION OF THIS SCRIPT MAY BE PERFORMED, PUBLISHED, REPRODUCED, SOLD OR DISTRIBUTED BY ANY MEANS, OR QUOTED OR PUBLISHED IN ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING ANY WEB SITE, WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF FOCUS FEATURES LLC. DISPOSAL OF THIS SCRIPT COPY DOES NOT ALTER ANY OF THE RESTRICTIONS SET FORTH ABOVE. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg June 12, 2009 - WHITE June 24, 2009 - BLUE REVISION June 30, 2009 - PINK REVISION August 3,2009 - GOLDENROD REVISION 1 FADE UP ON: 1 The humming stillness of an American suburb on a summer’s day: nannies push strollers, joggers jog, mailmen deliver, dogs are walked, kids shoot hoop in wide open driveways. On a quiet, tree-lined street we pick up two young athletic- looking boys riding bikes. LASER ALLGOOD (15) and his friend, CLAY (15). Like bats out of hell they pass block after block of charming, evenly spaced houses until they round a corner and drop their bikes in front of a large ranch house. 2 INT. CLAY’S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER 2 They walk inside. We HEAR a baseball game on TV in another room. 3 INT. CLAY’S, BATHROOM - LATER 3 Clay pounds on blue pills with a hammer, reducing them to powder. Laser watches. LASER I don’t know, dude. Clay cuts the powder into lines with a school ID card. CLAY B minus in geometry, yo! This shits the bomb! Clay rolls up a dollar bill and takes a snort. Then hands the rolled up bill to Laser. CLAY (CONT’D) Add it up, son. Laser takes the bill, bends over and snorts a line. 4 INT. ALLGOOD HOUSE - GIRL’S BEDROOM - DAY 4 Part Oxford reading room, part teenage girl’s lair. Leaning against the bed we see JONI ALLGOOD (18). It’s her room. She pours over a game of Scrabble. Sitting next to Joni is her best girl friend, SASHA, (18). Sasha’s checking out Joni’s FACEBOOK PAGE. 2. Joni’s best guy friend, JAI (18) sits across from her, calculating his next Scrabble move. SASHA Oh my God, Joni, there are so many hotties in your class. You are so gonna hook up the first week. JAI Just cause you’re a 24 hour drive- thru doesn’t mean everyone else has to be... SASHA Hey, she worked her ass off! She deserves some hot jock sausage! Jai looks repulsed, and hurt. SASHA (CONT’D) (flip) Whatever. Why don’t you guys just do it and get it over with? Joni and Jai blush. They’re both too scared to admit their crush on each other. SASHA (CONT’D) What? I’m just asking. JAI Uh, maybe because we’re friends... SASHA Oh, really...? Sasha turns to Joni like an agent provocateur. 5 INT. CLAY’S HOUSE - TV ROOM - LATER 5 Laser and Clay wrestle on the floor while Clay’s DAD watches a baseball game on TV. They bump into the couch. Clay’s dad looks back, menacing. CLAY’S FATHER Hey, ladies! Take it down a notch. The boys keep wrestling, wired from the pills. Again, they knock into the couch. Clay’s dad spins around, pissed. CLAY’S FATHER (CONT’D) What did I just say?! 3. The Dad grabs Clay, pulls him off of Laser and over the couch. He gets his son in a headlock, forcing the boy’s face into his big fat sweaty armpit. Both Dad and Clay enjoy the brutal play. Clay laughs manically. CLAY Let me go! CLAY’S FATHER Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. CLAY Dad, your pits smell like burnt ass! Get off me! As Laser observes this male-bonding between father and son, we note a trace of longing on his face. 6 OMITTED. 6 7 OMITTED. 7 8 INT. ALLGOOD HOUSE - DINING ROOM 8 Joni, Laser and JULES ALLGOOD (40’s) fair-skinned, attractive, sit before well prepared dinner. Still buzzing, Laser taps his fingers incessantly on the table. JONI Laser! Knock it off! LASER What?! I’m not doing anything. 9 EXT. HOUSE - ESTABLISHING - MAGIC HOUR 9 NIC ALLGOOD (late 40’s) pulls up into the driveway beside a beat up white TRUCK covered in AA slogan bumper stickers. 10 INT. ALLGOOD HOUSE - DINING ROOM - EVENING 10 Nic enters. Drops her bag and heads for the table. NIC Hi guys. Sorry I’m late. 4. JULES Don’t worry. We just started. NIC 27 fibroids. All in the lining. She kisses Jules. JULES Honey, that’s disgusting. We’re eating. JONI Did you do that laparoscopically? NIC That’s right, Smart Girl. And we got ‘em all. As Nic settles in... NIC (CONT’D) Hey, whose truck is that? JULES Mine. NIC Yours? JULES For the business. NIC What business?.. (getting edgy) The gardening? JONI (protective) Isn’t it landscaping. JULES Yes, thank you very much. NIC (strained) Okay... (then) Do we have any Cabarnet left? JULES I didn’t look, honey. 5. Nic gets up and goes to the kitchen for wine. Laser’s cell phone RINGS. He answers it. LASER Hey, what’s up? Jules puts her hand on Laser’s arm. JULES Laser, no phone calls at the table. LASER (into phone) Lemme hit you back. Laser hangs up. Nic re-enters with a large glass of red. NIC (sitting down) Who was that? LASER Nobody. Clay. Jules and Nic share a look. Jules starts making maternal windshield wiper strokes with her thumb on Laser’s arm. JULES Can I ask you something? What do you get from your relationship with Clay? LASER What do you mean, “get”? Laser looks down at Jules’ thumb on his arm. JULES Do you feel like he’s the kind of person who will help you grow? LASER Mom, you’re windshield wiping me. NIC Hey, did you start on those thank- you notes for your birthday gifts? JONI Not yet. But I will... 6. NIC I just think it’s easier to knock them out when it’s fresh. JONI Yeah, I know, I’ll do them tonight. NIC Great...I mean, you don’t want to have to start with an apology. You know? Then it’s embarrassing. JULES Okay, honey. She got it. Let it go. NIC Okay, I’ll let it go... (then) I mean, if it was up to you, our kids wouldn’t even write thank-you notes, they’d just send out good vibes. Nic takes another swig of vino and smiles at Joni through increasingly plum-stained teeth. NIC (CONT’D) I can’t believe my baby’s 18. JULES I know... NIC (devolving into baby talk) Big girl. You’re a big girl... JONI Mom... Joni mimes wiping her teeth. Embarrassed, Nic starts licking at her stained teeth. 11 INT. JONI’S BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT 11 As Joni cranks out thank-you notes, Laser enters. JONI What? Laser looks nervous. 7. LASER Have you thought any more about, you know, making that call...? JONI Yeah. I don’t want to. LASER Okay...I was just wondering if you changed your mind. JONI I haven’t. He starts to leave, but her answer bugs him. He turns back. LASER How can you not even be curious? JONI Sorry, Laser. I just don’t want to, okay? I’m leaving soon and I don’t want to deal with that right now. (co-dependent leak) And also, that could really hurt moms’ feelings... LASER God, why do you worry about them so much? They don’t even have to know about it! JONI Look, you can do it when you turn 18, okay? LASER I never ask you for anything. Laser walks out of the room. Joni feels horrible. 12 INT. NIC AND JULES BEDROOM - THAT NIGHT 12 Nic and Jules lay in bed watching TV, unwinding from the day. NIC I just don’t understand why you bought the truck now. 8. JULES Because if I’m starting this business I need something to haul my equipment in. NIC Okay. It just seems a little cart before the horse. JULES What does that mean? NIC Sweetie, you don’t even have any clients yet. JULES Well you’re the one who’s always telling me to “act as if!” NIC (back peddling) That’s true. I do. You’re right. The women settle back. Nic sees Jules feels bad. NIC (CONT’D) Look, I’m sorry. It’s good you bought the truck. Its proactive. Nic caresses Jules’ arm, wanting to make it better. NIC (CONT’D) Hey... Jules doesn’t look at Nic. She keeps her eyes on the T.V. NIC (CONT’D) Wanna watch a movie? Jules perks up. Nic immediately regrets her suggestion. JULES A movie-movie? NIC Yeah. We haven’t done that in a while. MINUTES LATER -- NIC AND JULES are cozied up side-by-side facing the TV. 9. ANGLE ON - THE TV The volume is turned low on TWO NAKED MEN lying on a chaise longue. One guy fellating the other. 13 INT. STAIRCASE - SAME 13 Joni tiptoes up a dark staircase and enters an office off the mom’s bedroom. She heads for the desk and stealthy opens a drawer. She rummages though with clear intention. She pulls out a FOLDER and studies the cover. We see the words: “Pacific Cryo Clinic: Bringing your dreams to life.” 14 INT.